1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a door stop apparatus and in particular, to a door stop having one or more segments wherein at least one of said segments is adjustable such that in one mode the door stop may be utilized to prevent the closure of a door, and in a second mode the door stop may be configured by a user to allow said door to fully close without obstruction.
2. Description of the Related Art
The use of door stops in both residences and businesses to prevent damage to doors and adjacent walls that may result from collisions between such structures is well-known. Most typically, a door stop is mounted to a wall adjacent to a door and is optimally placed on the wall at a location such that a door knob or the door itself will, if the door is opened too widely, collide with the door stop and not the wall. The door stop, often constructed of a soft material such as rubber or plastic, or alternatively, a spring having a soft rubber or plastic tip mounted to one end, will ideally absorb the impact of the collision between the door and the wall, thus preventing damage to both structures.
Door stops are also commonly mounted upon doors and operate in much the same manner as wall-mounted door stops as described above. Namely, a door-mounted door stop, constructed at least partially of a soft material, is mounted on a wall-facing surface of a door such that when the door is opened too widely, the door stop absorbs the impact of the collision between the door and the wall (or other object). Such door-mounted door stops may be mounted on a door knob or any other surface of a door.
While the most common function served by door stops is to prevent damage to doors, walls and other inanimate objects, door stops also may serve to prevent or reduce injury to persons resulting from the movement of a door. For example, it is widely known that very young children are fond of opening and closing doors, often without any regard for their own well-being, the well-being of other persons or pets, or consideration for household furnishings. In fact, children will often slam a door with great force such that if their fingers or other appendages (or those of others) are caught between the door and the door frame, injury will result. Other harm that may potentially result from children closing doors may occur when such action causes a child to be isolated from his or her parents because of an inadvertently locked door, or because by closure of the door, the child's parent(s) or other caretaker(s) are less likely to be able to hear the child. In view of these potential harms, a door stop that can prevent a door from closing meets a great need of parents and caretakers. A door stop structure found in the prior art that at least partially addresses the problem described above is found in door stops having “U” shaped bodies that may be hung over a door, or around one edge of a door, such that said door stop prevents the door from closing.
The use of elongated door stop structures that are configured to be hung over the top of a door lengthwise, such that the thickness of the door stop lying on the top surface of the door acts as an obstruction which prevents the door from being closed, is known in the art. While such door stop structures function to obstruct the closure of a door to which it is mounted, one disadvantage of such a structure is that it cannot be easily removed or repositioned to allow for the door to be closed. More specifically, the shape of such a structure, having a thick body portion that rests on the top of the door, requires that the entire door stop be removed in order to close the door. In the case of some embodiments of such door stops, the “appendages” of the door stop structure are fastened to the door, thus making the removal of the door stop even more time-consuming and inefficient.
Other door stops found in the prior art suffer from the same or similar disadvantages. Namely, the entire door stop, or a portion of the door stop, must be removed from the door stop in order to close the door to which it was mounted. For example, some embodiments of such prior art door stops teach the use of an “interference member,” shaped like a wedge, dome, or some other interfering shape, which may be removably disposed in a compartment, which is in turn disposed on the elongated strip. The “interference member” disposed within the compartment is configured to reside over the top of a door so as to prevent the door (to which the door stop is mounted) from closing.
While such a door stop functions to prevent the closure of a door to which it is attached, it suffers from a similar disadvantage as the other prior art designs which have been previously discussed above. More specifically, the “interference member” of the door stop must be removed, or the entire door stop removed, in order to permit the door to be closed. Such a configuration is inefficient because it increases the difficulty and time required to close a door as it is necessary to remove all or a portion of the door stop from the door. As the “interference member” of such embodiments is most typically configured to be positioned at the top of a door, the member is more difficult to access if removal of said member is sought.
In summary, there are many drawbacks and other problems found in door stop structures known in the art. The present invention, in various embodiments, seeks to remedy these and other problems found in the prior art.
Where used in the various figures of the drawings, the same reference numerals designate the same or similar parts. Furthermore, when the terms “anterior,” “posterior,” “front,” “rear,” “aft,” “forward,” “first,” “second,” “upper,” “lower,” “height,” “top,” “bottom,” “outer,” “inner,” “width,” “length,” “end,” “side,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” and similar terms are used herein, it should be understood that these terms have reference only to the structure shown in the drawing and are utilized only to facilitate describing the invention.
All figures are drawn for ease of explanation of the basic teachings of the invention only; the extensions of the figures with respect to number, position, relationship, and dimensions of the parts to form the preferred embodiment will either be explained or will be within the skill of persons of ordinary skill in the art after the following teachings of the present invention have been read and understood. Further, the exact dimensions and dimensional proportions to conform to specific width, length, and similar requirements will likewise be within the skill of the art after the following teachings of the invention have been read and understood.